prabal

Hello fellow travellers,

During the last week of December I spent two days around Calgary for photographing the Canadian Rockies (Banff) and the Prairies (Drumheller). The time was short and I obviously could cover only so much. Regardless, I thought I'd share some of my photographic experience and also the resources that I researched and found to be useful. Do let me know your comments.

Thank you,
Prabal.

Before I begin, I invite you to look at some of my memorable moments captured at http://canadianrockies.photosite.com (hit "Slideshow" at the top)

I started out on 12/28 by taking a morning flight from San Francisco. Reached Calgary on time (I had a stopover) just after noon. I checked in at the Radisson Hotel. It seemed to be a pretty decent place (contrary to reviews posted at tripadvisor) with friendly staff. It has a nice and pricey restaurant and a Denny's within a minute's walk.

Since this trip was focused exclusively on photography, I decided to hire a photo guide. I did extensive research beforehand to find someone who lives in Calgary, offers pick-up and drop-off and charges a reasonable rate. A great place to start your research is http://www.discoveralberta.com/Tours...urs/index.html . Feel free to email the photographers listed there. Most of them are very quick to respond and will clearly explain what you can expect. I chose David Lilly (www.davidlillyphotography.ca) and I'm
very glad I did.

On the topic of winter gears, I must express my thanks to Georgie who saw my post here and suggested me offline not to buy snow boots and shoes and instead rent them from the Calgary University Outdoor Gear Center (http://www.calgaryoutdoorcentre.ca). I booked in advance and picked them up the day
I arrived. Check the site for rates. It's darn cheap considering that they rent very high quality gears (I got Sorel's boots) and buying new, for boots alone, could cost you more than $100.

We started very early on the next day. It is about an hour and a half's drive from Calgary to Banff. On our way, lake Vermillion was our stop for picturing sunrise. Light wasn't too great that morning, but I still managed some shots. We moved on and stopped next at Johnston's Canyon and hiked to the upper falls. This is an easy hike with magnificent ice formations and icefalls all around.
There are numerous photo opportunities here, although you need to be patient because this road is _busy_.

We had lunch and continued on our way to lake louise. We briefly stopped at the Morant's curve. This is another classic location where you can capture a train moving through the curved way and will create a dream composition. It was around 3 when we reached Lake Louise. This is said to be the ultimate postcard location of the Canadian Rockies. In winter the entire place is white and in the distance the V shaped twin peaks of Mount Victoria appear like a dream. Use a grad filter (www.singh-ray.com) to expose this
scene properly, since it is almost impossible to capture the bright peaks and the shadowy lake at the same time.

Sun was almost setting by the time we bid goodbye to Lake Louise. Our sunset photo spot was Hotel Fairmont Banff. There're other suggestions as well. Please read on.

The next day we travelled east to the Canadian Prairies. It's amazing how dramatic the difference in landscape is between an hour's drive on either side of Calgary. Here it's a flat barren land (during
winter, that is) as far as your eyes can see and a properly silhouetted sunrise or sunset photo can be one of the best you'll
ever take. On our way to Drumheller, we kept shooting old barns, grain elevators, abandoned coal mines and of course the Hoodoos. We did not have time to see the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, since
landscape shooting was my priority. We came back after shooting some dramatic sunset moments, again right off of the freeway. I flew back next morning.

Overall, I had a short but memorable photo tour. For anyone visiting this area, I recommend picking up a copy of "How to Photograph Canadian Rockies" by Darwin Wiggett. Despite it's rather touristic title,
this is actually a very good book for serious amateurs that describes all the regions of Canadian Rockies in great details (in terms of when is the best time to shoot etc) and is cheap ($10 on amazon).

Appendix: for photo enthusiasts planning to visit this region in winter:
- Some of the best winter photo techniques are described by John Shaw (http://www.photosafaris.com/Articles/UltimateSnow.asp, http://www.photosafaris.com/Articles...WhiteRight.asp), Wayne Lynch (http://www.photosafaris.com/Articles/UltimateSnow.asp). I also found Kodak guide on winter photography (http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe...bs/c9/c9.jhtml) useful. Don't be intimidated by the title ("Photography Under Arctic Conditions&quot. It's pretty useful for general winter photography too.
- If your camera supports AA batteries, lithium batteries work far better than alkaline. One option is energizer e2 which is rated down to -40
- You need to get gloves that allow you to operate camera controls. Many options exist (golf gloves, silk liners etc). I got myself a pair of Nomex flying gloves and was very happy. On top of it, I used Outdoor Research's Index mittens. These are excellent for photography.
- Get wrappers for your tripod legs. It's a godsend when it's cold.
- Because you'll be shooting a lot with your wide angle lenses, get yourself familiar with hyperfocal distance
(http://www.nikonians.org/html/resour...perfocal1.html)

Judy_in_Calgary

Thanks for the detailed report, prabal. Glad to hear you had a rewarding trip.

What a brilliant idea to rent outdoor winter gear from the university's Outdoor Gear Centre. I'll remember that tip to pass on to other winter travellers.

My son rents equipment from them (climbing gear and such). I had no idea that they also rented regular outdoor winter clothing.

As for your photos ...... Words escape me. They are stupendous!

cmcfong

Great trip report, prabal. I absolutely loved the slide show. Although I have visited the area many times I have never been during the winter months. Your photos made my heart ache to visit now! Thank you for sharing.

SharonNRayMc

prabal, Thank you so much for sharing the photos... ah, such visual delights! And for providing so much resource material in your trip report.


At what distance did you shoot the elk?

And, what kind of camera did you use?

- Sharon

prabal

Sharon,

I took the picture of the elk from about 20-25 feet with my 80-200 lens (set at 200). A bean bag came in handy to keep the camera steady, since I was shooting from inside our jeep.

I shoot with a Nikon F100. I exclusively shoot slides. The elk picture was taken on Fuji Velvia.

Thanks for your comments, Sharon.

- Prabal.

BAK

Thanks for the report, and the link to the pictures.

They were my afternoon treat.

BAK

dwooddon

You have some really great photos in that slide show. Thanks for posting them.

SharonNRayMc

Thanks for the details, Prabal.

- Sharon

SusanEva

Dear Prabal,

So glad for all the information you shared and your web reference.

Thanks especially for sharing your photos. Gorgeous! I'm a fan for the big open prarie, especially taken by #11 & 12, and the train in the valley.

Thanks again!

prabal

Thank you all, folks!

I can't say enough about this site. I got an enormous amout of information and help just by posting a 3 line (naive, might I add) question about my trip. I'm just giving a little back to you all by sharing what I learnt.

Thanks again,
Prabal.

Chris_Erica

Amazing photos - the scenery looks wonderful in winter, and the prairie scenes are so atmospheric